The forecast calls for Ian to become a hurricane late Sunday and a major hurricane late Monday or early Tuesday. The Florida Keys could get two to four inches of rain, with some areas getting up to 6 inches.
Tropical Storm Ian, the ninth named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, is forecast to reach Category 4 hurricane strength before reaching Florida next week. If it does, it will be the first major hurricane to hit the state since 2018.
9/24 – Here is the latest on #Ian as of the 11pm advisory. With the majority of South Florida outside of the cone, this does NOT mean we are in the clear. Impacts can extend well east of the storm center. Be sure to keep up with the latest forecast changes this weekend. #flwx pic.twitter.com/iUvPcmzcyp
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) September 25, 2022
Ian was located about 395 miles southeast of Grand Cayman and 685 miles from the western tip of Cuba at 11 p.m. Saturday. EDT and moving west at 13 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). “Ian is forecast to rapidly intensify and become a hurricane on Sunday,” the center said in the statement. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 50 mph.
The forecast shows Ian “as a major hurricane over the eastern Gulf as it approaches the west coast of Florida” after briefly passing over Cuba at or near major hurricane strength, the center said.
All of Florida and part of the state’s western coast could be at risk, according to the hurricane center’s most recent forecast cone, which highlights that while southern Florida falls outside the new track, the impact of the hurricane will be It will also be felt to the east and south of its trajectory.
Ian is expected to rapidly intensify into a Category 3 hurricane before reaching the western tip of Cuba on Tuesday morning. Conditions are extremely favorable for it to strengthen and the National Hurricane Center forecast now calls Ian a Category 4 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico.
“Since Ian is not expected to remain long over Cuba, little weakening is expected from that land interaction,” the hurricane center warned.
Biden and DeSantis emergency declarations for Florida
President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Florida on Saturday, the White House reported, and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts, due to emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Ian.
Here are the 11 pm EDT Saturday Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Ian. Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches for western Cuba. Follow the latest at: https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/EPBMFXGOaF
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 25, 2022
Biden also postponed his trip to Florida next Tuesday. Biden was expected to speak on health care costs and Medicare in Fort Lauderdale and then head to Orlando to speak at a Democratic National Committee event. It is not known when or if Biden will reschedule the visit.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had also declared a state of emergency for the entire state earlier on Saturday. The governor asked residents and their families to start preparing emergency supplies and stockpiling food, water and medicine.